There will be plenty of time to reflect on Margo Fenn's turn as executive director of Cape Cod Commission, but the immediate need is for the commission to figure out the top post of the agency.

If past practice means anything, deputy director John Lipman will carry the title, and he's a good choice. Our focus is on his replacement, and we know a candidate who'll be available after June 30 when Barnstable's new budget becomes effective.

Left behind in the $148 million town spending plan was Tom Broadrick, hired as the director of planning in 2002. His title and duties changed with the advent of the growth management department in 2005.

Broadrick has not made his future plans known to us (and really, why would he), but taking a cue from Elliott Carr, chairman of the commission review group, we, too, believe local talent should not be overlooked.

Before Broadrick came to Barnstable, he was the town planner in Duxbury, but commuted from his home in Dennis, where he served five years as a town planner.

He carries the requisite number of acronyms and letters on his business cards: member of the AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners), past-president of MAPA (Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association), among others.

Interestingly, his planning background may have been the death knell for his time in Barnstable. The planning culture change in Barnstable Town Hall over the past few years, where planning dictates have been replaced with flexibility, places a greater premium on negotiation than pure planning.

There's a need for that, but here's also a need to firmly set the playing field.

While the ever personable and professional Broadrick may no longer fit Barnstable's model, he may be just what the commission needs.

DS II
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The first test

Until now, whether the Sagamore Bridge Flyover will eliminate the traffic jams it was intended to cure has been a mostly academic exercise.

We've lived with the new configuration for a number of months now, accessing it from all directions and speeds, but we can't replicate thousands of cars. The computer models suggest that it will move people faster, and it would be near impossible for that not to be the case.

It's the necessary narrowing of two lanes from the north and two lanes from the south each into an efficient single-file formation that presents the biggest question marks.

The new system is rational and organized on light traffic days, but rational and well-organized takes a back seat when bumpers get closer.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross has logged a lot of miles in TV trucks explaining to a hopefully large viewing audience how it's supposed to work and what drivers are supposed to do.

When the rubber hits the road this weekend, those not fortunate enough to take the pre-test will have to figure things out on the fly (over).

The concern has more to do with people getting here, not their inevitable departure. The straight shot over the bridge can only get gummed up by the Exit 1 onramp from those using Route 6A as a cross-Cape alternative and the natural tendency to slow down when faced with two-lanes of oncoming traffic. We have great expectations for the off-load.

Will the $60 million project pass with flyover colors? We'll know soon enough.

DS II
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it